Daily Lesson from Life 24 April 2009

"Fri, Apr 24, 2009 The New Paper - Teachers guide us a lot

WHY do students from some junior colleges, especially those perceived to be weaker, do better than others in project work (PW)?

That has been the buzz bandied about, not only after the release of this year's results, but in the past few years.

Answer: It could all boil down to the teachers and their methods.


So say pupils and teachers from different JCs who spoke to The New Paper.

For a start, there is the vetting process. Some students in Meridian Junior College (MJC), for example, have to submit at least seven drafts to their teacher for vetting before being finally approved and ready for submission.


This is not just a one-off step - it occurs at each of the five stages of project work (PW).

The hard work of Meridian's students and teachers paid off when about 95 per cent of this year's cohort achieved distinctions.


This means that about nine out of 10 students scored an 'A' for the subject.

This is even higher than elite schools such as Hwa Chong Institution (HCI), which had 85 per cent distinctions, and Raffles Institution (92 per cent distinctions).


So what exactly does MJC offer that gives its students the edge?

A MJC student, who asked not to be named, said his teacher would scrutinise every single draft to ensure there were no discrepancies in the data the students had provided.


'He really made sure that I didn't have any inconsistencies, and that all my facts tallied,' said the 18-year-old, who is in the second year this year.

But that is not all. There is also the detailed guidance on how to do research.


The PW teachers will also tell the students where to look for material suitable for their projects.

Another second-year MJC student, Claire (not her real name), 18, shared a similar experience.
She said that her teacher was strict and very particular - even about the smallest detail.
She said: 'He was very picky about the little details and would make us re-do our drafts a few times if our work did not meet his standards.'


She added that all 20 students in her class achieved distinctions in the subject.

But not all teachers believe in this 'spoon-feeding' approach to Project Work. Although some teachers in MJC do guide their students very closely, there are others who prefer not to.


A teacher from the school said that the number of drafts submitted depends on the number of copies the students submit, and is not a school stipulation.

'The teachers also won't scrutinise every little detail in their drafts,' she added."

In exam-crazy Singapore, or for that matter, most Asian countries, this is an interesting topic to discuss!

The lessons for me are:

1. Project Work is to help individual learn on his or her own as well as to work collaboratively with others in the project team. It is a very good way to learn and develop the young students;

2. for those with strict supervisors who scrutinized their work at each stage of the project, if they are learning to be more disciplined, organized, dwelling deeper into the subject, and finally produce the report, it is fine. Nothing beat being guided broadly and getting critical and constructive feedback to improve along the way. Action learning results in longer lasting retention and possibly modification or cultivation of good study behaviors and habits;

3. for those supervisors who ended up doing the project themselves instead of guiding the students, then the result will be terrible in term of the learning and development of the students involved.

So, for me, the results showed good grades by perceived weaker JCs is acceptable as long as they are in item 2 mentioned above and not item 3.

Leaders develop people to learn and form good habits for a life time of benefits!